For Jean-Louis of Monte-Cristo, After the Style of Rousselot (Crudely!)

The other Musician's would, of course, dispense with the false "hanging sleeves" in the back, as these were worn only by the timbaliers a cheval, and with the Tiger skin saddle cover.

Respectfully, Sir William

The Completed Collection of Infantry Uniform and Standard Plates, By Special Request

The Completed Collection of Cavalry and Artillery Uniform and Standard Plates, By Special Request

An Updated Dispatch Regarding The Regiments of Horse

Kind Sirs;

It is with great excitement that We here in M'Uedail make the announcement that two of Our fine new Regiments of Horse have now been designated Cuirassiers, after the Prussian style. Revised uniform plates have been substituted for those previously displayed to reflect this change. It is with equal excitement, and pride, that we announce that The Lady Katherine's Guard Caribiniers, one of our new armoured Regiments, shall now be granted a full and proper standard. Herr Rommel has assured me that he has personally recruited these lads from only the finest of the available German Cavalry volunteers, with every man having served under previous colours and in previous campaigns, and being descendant of fine, noble families. Further, both he and young Mr. Shaw's agents have personally vetted each of these men, and have sworn to their ancestry, courage under fire, and have provided recommendations from previous Commanders. In this, they are not unlike the famed Musquetaires du Roi who served Louis' ancestors so valiantly in many a storied campaign. The Lady Katherine's lads shall wear a polished cuirass of the best gun metal, to reflect their status as a "Household" Regiment.

The other new Cuirassier Regiment is that of Don Alberto Pacino. He has similarly pledged the quality and integrity of this group of volunteers, has selected only the finest and hardiest physical specimens from among the many who volunteered for this service, and is off-setting the cost of the upgraded equipment through his own financial means. Don Pacino's Regiment shall wear the more traditional "blackened" cuirass, as do the Prussians under Frederick.

Respectfully, Sir William

Your Pardon, Kind Sirs, for an Omission

I do kindly beg Your pardon Dear Reader, for l'erreur d'omission on my part. Young Shaw and Guderian reminded me that two "Administrative" bodies of troops had been created as well. These units were put together of only highly-qualified and selected individuals, and are for the security and comfort of the gentle citizenry of M'Uedail.

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The first of these unusual units is the Compagnie Les Gardiens de la Foret, or in proper English, the "Company of the Keepers of the Forest". These hardy woodsmen and hunters, under the able command of Sous-Leiutenant Jean Reneau (a crack marksman and quite ruthless hunter I'm told), will be in full regimental strength and will patrol not only our forested areas, but the more wild and remote parts of our border as well. However, since their duties often require a certain amount of stealth and discretion, they will typically operate in patrols of half-companies, each commanded by a trusted sergeant, and will patrol in a looser order than our line regiments of Cavalry, much like small patrols of skirmisher's. I'm told that the Prussians and Austrians have similar units and, indeed, I did have a quarrel with Guderian, who wished to call them "Jagers zum Wald". However, I must be somewhat sensitive to the feelings of my gentle people, who are already having a difficult time adapting to the profusion of strange new accents and languages. The observant Reader will no doubt notice that these lads have very little gilt or fine lace, preferring instead to blacken their lace and buttons so as to increase their ability to be assimilated into their surroundings. Indeed, I'm told that in practice, Mssr. Reneau plans to either operate in chapeau du forage instead of his mirlitons, or blacken the unit's badge on the front of the mirlitons. And I'm told that they will typically wear deerskin gauntlets that cover their bright cuffs and leave their sabretache with their horse when functioning in a dismounted role. Their final distinctive item of notice is the fur trimming their pelisse, which is of dark wolf's fur. Apparently, Mssr. Reneau has made it a requirement that each recruit must stalk and take a male wolf armed only with the simplest of primitive weapons and provide his own fur as a matter of honour!

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The second of our "Administrative Units" is the Compagnie Les Gardienes de la Frontiere, or the Keepers of the Border, commanded by that able young man Sous-Lieutenant Jacques Clouseau. I'm told that Mssr. Clouseau was a former Inspecteur Principale, or Chief Inspector, with the local Constabulary and is on quite intimate terms with every rogue, scoundrel, smuggler and ne'er-do-well in the Duchy. His unit will be similarly organized and function much like Mssr. Reneau's, except that it will focus its attentions on our chief river ports, formal border crossings and primary roadways. This unit consists of, or so young Shaw tells me, every over-zealous former constable and smuggler within our Duchy, and some from the surrounding areas as well. I do hope that young Mssr. Clouseau can maintain order within this group, but I'm told that he's quite the able administrator, and a crack investigator as well. Although I do have to confess Dear Reader, upon meeting the man for the first time, I'm damned if he didn't trip over his own boots and take a serving wench and footman down with him! I trust that this was caused by his understandable apprehension at meeting Myself and the lovely Lady Katherine for the first time. As always, time will reveal all to the patient man. I do believe that I will be comforted while on campaign and will not fear for Lady Katherine's safety with Mssr's. Reneau and Clouseau on patrol though.

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Respectfully, Sir William

The Final Installment of the Uniform Series

That scamp Shaw! He allowed me to believe for a full day that he and Guderian had neglected to complete the necessary instructions for the various supernumary units of my Guard to provide to the Brothers Knotel. And yet, here they are! He must always have his little jests with me, that one. I must say that I am quite delighted with them. The Artillery presents the proper, somber attitude that most valuable arm of the service must have to perform their required duties, yet still retains that certain aura of panache that suits me so well. And as to my personal Guard, this was a complete suprise to me. I was so busy concocting my own little suprise for my bride, that I quite failed to discerne that the Lady Katherine and young Shaw had been entertaining one of my late, Sainted Mother's kinsman, the Honourable Joseph Henry MacKibben.

This gentleman is a "salty" veteran of many a campaign, both under the flag of the Stuart's and that of Louis. I had hoped that I might entice the man to join me, along with his twin sons Joseph and Henry, but never imagined he would command my personal Guard. I am disappointed to not have his son's join us, but those two fine young Scots are off to the America's to seek their fortune in an area called "The Western Reserve", apparently an unexplored wild portion of the English colony of Connecticut overrun with wild Red Indians and all sorts of game. They have promised to write to us and I shall look forward to following their adventures as well. I have often thought that, if Destiny had not chosen the path that She has for me, I too might have been such a "colonist", or other such adventurer. The Lady Katherine simply says that I wanted to be a Pirate or Buccaneer, and ravage and plunder, which I think scandalous from a noble-born Lady such as herself. Besides, I'm told that a Duke has more than enough "plundering and ravaging" to do in his own right! At least all that I have known or served have done so.

Respecfully, Sir William

And Finally, The Light Horse!

Ah, the beau sabreurs of the Army, the dashing Light Horse! Here we are experimenting somewhat. While the majority of our Light Horse shall be of the Continental style of Hussar, two of our Regiments shall be in the new English style (as of 1759) of Light Dragoon. These wear a distinctive, if somewhat odd, "helmet" formed of varnished leather reinforced with gilted metal fittings and a died horsehair crest. We have chosen to paint this helmet in the Regimental color, although I gather the English are experimenting with leaving them plain varnished leather, which I find quite mundane, and with gilting them, which at least adds an air of elan to them. However, I much prefer our new scheme of coloring them to the Regiment.

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We shall also be employing these Light Dragoons in the Continental manner of Light Horse. That is, we shall employ them for scouting, dismounted service, escort duty, skirmishing, and for the charge de sabre when the proper opportunity presents itself. Our reports from England indicate that their own Army appears to be having problems in properly employing this new style of horse (one of the problems when only "gentlemen" are permitted to ride). However, here on the Continent, we have known how to properly utilize such dashing rogues for over a century, having extensive experience with every type from Croat and Serb to Cossack of the Steppes to the original Hungarian Hussars in Bavarian and French service. The problem, as always with this type of dashing young "Hell for Leather" trooper is maintaining proper discipline. My "Germans" I shall not worry over, except perhaps this von Richthofen character who seems to be quite rash. However, this young Mr. O'Flynn commanding the Irish is quite another matter entirely! Not only does the man fancy himself quite the swordsman (which I understand he actually is), but apparently is a dandy and a "Lady's Man" as well. Indeed, I'm told that he particularly fancies very young ladies! This will, of course, bear watching.

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You have now shared in my treat, Dear Reader, and I hope you have found the experience to be quite as delightful as I myself did. It now awaits the cartiers and the tailors to see this fine group of Heroes fitted out and in the Field, ready to heed my command. So little time, so little time...

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Respectfully, Sir William

The Horse Have Arrived As Well!

How splendid! I can barely muster the patience to await the completion of these lads new finery! And here I admit to suprising my lovely young bride. She was not aware that I had determined to model my premiere Guard Regiment after the Regiment de Caribiniere du Roi and colour them and name them in her honor. She was quite delighted when Mr. Shaw unveiled this plate and secretly informed me that I had not seen all of her Paris purchases yet. I am considering acquiring blackened iron cuirasses for this regiment as well, as befits the premiere Guard Regiment of an Army such as mine, but will have to check the budget for such with young Shaw.

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Respectfully, Sir William

My Suprise, Part Two

Here then are the lads from my Baden Brigade and my "Italian" Brigade, how splendid they shall appear when their uniforms are complete! I must admit, I feel quite like a child at the Holiday seasons, breathless with anticipation as to what Father Christmas (or Pere Noel as the locals refer to him) will have left for me.

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Respectfully, Sir William

A Delightful Suprise!

What a truly delightful suprise! It seems that while I was otherwise engaged in affairs de state, and dealing with that pesky Stagonian matter, young Mr. Shaw and my lovely bride, Lady Katherine, conspired to make me a present. It seems that in Lady Katherine's homeland there is a charming and artistic family by the name of Knotel (I understand that correctly written, the "o" has that curious "umlaut" character of two small dots above it, making it sound like "oy", but every time I attempt to transcribe it, my quill ends up malfunctioning and causing a horrible mess). It seems also that Herr Knotel, a gifted painter in his own right, has two young sons who delight in portraying military uniforms and equiment. Apparently Mr. Shaw, knowing my mind on such matters from our many discussions, and the lovely Lady Katherine, took all of Shaw's notes on the uniforms and colours for my new Force de Militare and had these two young lads prepare an exquisite set of illuminated plates for me depicting my lads in all of their splendour!

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I must admit that I am so moved by this that I will only be able to post two of these plates at a time, as I am still contemplating them and savoring this moment. First up for your review Dear Reader are the hearty lads of my Guards Brigade and my Irish Brigade of "Wild Geese". I can already imagine the parade de militare that I will hold at the main drill field outside New Gaellia, where all of my citizens might see the brave lads in their new finery. I only wish that those damnable cartiers would deliver the uniforms that I have purchased so that my tailors may begin the required alterations to them. Perhaps I will speak with Don Carlo to see if he has, in some small way, an influence over the cartiers. The man does seem to be able to bend people to his will in the most charming of ways!

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Respectfully, Sir William

The Revelations Continue

It never ceases to amaze me that I can totter off to bed, with the drink full upon me, and yet still awaken as fresh as the dawn. Although I do admit that the Lady Katherine's recent Paris shopping excursion may have played a part in today's awakening. I fear that my lovely, yet naive bride, being the gentle countrywoman that she is from the South of Germany, fell in with a group of Louis's courtesans rather than with the more proper "ladies of the court" when she embarked on her expedition. Let us simply say that the designers of women's fashions in Paris, especially those fashions of a more intimate nature, are not to be equalled in this world. But I digress...

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Young Shaw has had a look at my notes from last night's dispatch and pointed out to me that I got the dates of the conference totally wrong. Impudent young turnip! I asked him how I was to be expected to attend to Stately Matters, command an Army, share drink and fellowship with my Staff, and attend to Lady Katherine's needs and still be accountable to a common calendar. How indeed? At any rate, I have amended my initial dispatch with the "correct" dates, so that our young Mr. Shaw doesn't have a fit over it. I must admit that he is becoming so valuable to me that I should hate to chuck him into the moat, especially since I do not yet have a proper moat!

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Now, back to my observations and discussions regarding the Army. Dear Reader, I feel that I must warn you that I have already been the victim of foul political intrigue. Or so it appears, at any rate. While I was making myself busy at the conference, being Ducal and all, sharing the Mess with my new Staff and their subordinates, our young Mr. Shaw was in serious discourse with emissaries from my two patrons, in Germany and Italy. It seems a price must be paid for their patronage, or at least for their largesse in providing me with suitable recruits and materiale.

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The German State, or more properly, Margraviate of Baden-Baden, came into this World in the 12th century, was severely ravaged during the Great Religious Wars of the last century, and has since split into militant hereditary factions. Indeed, a state of "almost war" exists today in the region. My Patron there, the Most Catholic Ludwig Georg Simpert, is the current, and last, hereditary Margrave of Baden-Baden, yet only holds sway over roughly half of his holdings and is under constant pressure from a faction in Wurttemburg controlled by the Protestant Margraves of Baden-Durlach, as well as separatists within his own Margraviate. I am now told that assistance to the Protestants, at least politically and monetarily, is being provided by Georg's neighbors in Bavaria (predominantly Catholic, but always full of intrigue and willing to foment unrest) and the Kingdom of Wittenberg. The Separatist Movement within Baden-Baden itself, is being fueled by aid and encouragement from their neighbors to the North, the Bishophoric of Unter Gruntshuffen (always anxious for the opportunity to increase the Bishophoric's territories and treasury, no doubt). I was well aware of these conditions when I served Georg as a Military Advisor seconded by Louis. What I was not aware of at that time, and that young Shaw has only just apprised me of, is that the real seed of unrest in this region is coming from the vile Kingdom of Stagonia. They are a Northern neighbor of Bavaria and Wittenberg with great territorial designs on the region. I am advised that they have agent provacateurs everywhere in the region and are to be watched very carefully. Indeed, they may even have designs on my own Duchy of M'Uedail.

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As to my Italian Patrone, the esteemed Duc di Milan; it seems that he is troubled by both Savoy and Venice's dalliances with the Austrian Monarchy, as well as the support that these dalliances receive from the Papal States to his south. Thus his motive for providing me with primarily rebellious Sicilianos who already have a grievance with the Kingdom of Savoy and the Austrians. The lone Northern Italian of the group, young Bongiovi, apparently has a personal loyalty to the Duc di Milan which he has transferred, at least on the surface, to me.

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It seems that both of my Patrons have forwarded to me a collection of excellent soldiers, all of whom are under personal oaths of allegiance to either Georg or the Duc di Milan, and will come to their aid when called upon. How this will impact my ability to defend M'Uedail remains to be seen. At the moment, each of my Commandant de Brigade are secretly training their men, sans uniforme, in undisclosed locations, away from prying eyes. When their new equipage is complete and assembled, they will report to the Duchy from these locations and muster in. I must exercise great caution in assigning their depot locations and territorial responsibilities. I should hate to hear upon awakening one morning that my Italian Command has suddenly deserted their posts guarding our borders and is marching willy-nilly off to attack Savoy. Or that my steadfast Germans have decided to take their leave and marched off to make War on Georg's behalf.

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Further complicating this state of affairs is Louis' amendment to my Ducal status and responsibilities. It seems that Mr. Shaw has finally had an opportunity to decipher the flowery court language used in the proclomacion and that the majority of my Irish, at least all of those seconded from The Brigade, are under a similar obligation to France. It seems that Louis, in addition to using me as a "beard" to get around the terms of the Peace of Paris, has concerns about the Kingdom of Frankzonia and the Duchy of Saxe-Huack, both of which present a threat to France's, and my own, northern borders. That bastard sod Louis has truly placed my chestnuts within a vise. It seems that I'll have little time for hunting excursions into the Black Forest or respites in the nearby mountains if I'm to be France's, and apparently everyone else's, buffer and saviour. Where is that cask of Amaretto that I left out last evening? I feel a sudden need for a morning "bracer". Once again, Dear Reader, it appears that your correspondent has been thrust quite unwillingly into the breach. I shall report further after my sensibilities recover.

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Respectfully, Sir William

Some Progress At Last, And Some Revelations!

My, but its been an interesting fortnight! Again, where to begin. Even though I am constantly making notes in my journal, of necessity they are often abreviated and I am much more comfortable when I can transpose them into somewhat coherant thoughts over a glass of my favorite nectar as I sit by the fire. Its my belief that to present you, my Dear Readers, with an understandable account of the events of the past fortnight, I should enumerate them as precisely as possible, so, to begin:

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(1) I was "requested" to report to Paris for an "informal appointment" with Louis and his advisor's no later than the eve of the sabbath, the 15th of September. Naturally, knowing that Louis is not to be ignored when he "requests", young Shaw and I, along with the Lady Katherine, who wished to do some shopping in Paris, set out upon our journey. Upon arriving at the Palace, and sending Lady Katherine on her way with our coach for her errands, young Shaw and I were immediately shown into Louis' private appartments. It seems, Dear Reader, that the Duc de Lyon, along with some other petty nobles and landholders, are concerned with my presence in M'Eudail. They damned well should be concerned! To calm poor Shaw, I sat through most of Louis' tirade and his advisor's clucking and whining for the better part of an hour; all without refreshment I hasten to add. When finally Louis appeared to have vented most of his fury, lackey's finally appeared with spirits and food. Its my belief that they had been hiding in an ante-chamber the whole while waiting for Louis to pause for breath! At any rate, it finally resolved that the real concern had to do with money and rumors that Louis was hearing of my planned army. The local functionaries had convinced the gullible sod that I was personally going to "bankrupt France, and that I was selling my loyalties to foreign powers while supping from Louis' cup". As if I, or anyone else, could ever bankrupt France after Louis' efforts had failed! Well, to keep my tale as brief as possible, I said all the appropriate things while young Shaw echoed them sincerely, and we both promised to be more mindful of our relations with our neighbors. The only good to come of our trip to Paris, other than the stunning ensembles that lady Katherine acquired, was that Shaw had an opportunity to meet with several individuals whom he knew at the Paris depot, where he discovered a virtual treasure trove of uniforms and weapons in storage. It seems that Louis was in the process of re-equipping the majority of his army, an odd sort of behavior for a King who just lost a war. At any rate, Shaw's friends were able to be persuaded that certain quantities of these items could be purchased, at a fraction of their original value, and routed to M'Uedail, for a nominal handling fee. Well, enough said on this matter, the bargain was struck and certain sums exchanged, along with the promise of additional funds, and I now had uniforms for roughly two-fifths of my new army. Many would need new linings and cuffs, and certainly the odd hole repaired here and there, but Shaw assures me that we obtained these for roughly a quarter of what new uniforms would have cost. And with our Guild tailors to make the needed repairs, I had just made a spectacular arrangement. This whole affair obviously set young Shaw's mind to spinning, as within a matter of days after our return to M'Uedail, he had made similar material acquisitions in both Baden and Milan, and thereby had provided the raw material for our entire Army, with suitable repairs and modifications to be sure. It seems that the end of wars such as our recent one often create such a stockpile of accoutrement. Indeed, young Shaw says that he can foresee a time when certain merchants will band together to sell nothing but this "War Surplus" as he calls it. I personally think the idea ridiculous, but I do so hate to dampen young Shaw's enthusiasm, especially when it benefits me!

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(2) Following our return to M'Uedail, and while young Shaw was about his shopping. I received a communique from my future Italian Brigade Commander, Don Carlo Luciano, requesting that I attend a conference that he had arranged in the mountains at some sort of hostelry, if it pleased me to do so, for the purpose of meeting all of my primary subordinates. It seems that Don Luciano is quite versed at arranging this sort of conference, and the mountains are a favorite location for them, something to do with privacy, which I understand that Don Luciano has something of a fetish for. Well, I enjoy a trip to the mountains as well as anyone, and was of course very curious to meet my new subordinates and see what they were like as a lot. I accepted Don Luciano's offer, with the admonition that all future "offers" of this nature should, by rights, be made by myself or young Shaw. The conference was to take place over the week following the Sabbath on Sunday, 23rd of September and last til Friday, the 28th of September, and we barely had time to get there by fast coach. So, young Shaw and I bundled our somewhat wrinkled travel clothes and uniforms into the coach once again, and off we went. What an affair! I am indeed surrounded by a splendid, and splendidly rogue, assortment of individuals. I am still forming my personal assesments of each of the officers that I met, and of couse I have that silly set of documents that Shaw had those two skalawags prepare for me, which I refused to read unless completely besotted. It shall have to wait for a later post for me to examine each of the new officer's in any detail, but I will summarize them briefly here:

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My resident Scotsman, Connery, is the epitomy of the Highland Brigand! The entire group of Irish, most especially that rascal O'Toole, are a hearty, loud, boisterous group who would probably defend you to the death in a tight moment, then steal your last shilling or sous to buy a drink! The Germans, to a man, will drive a man to drink with their constant heel-clicking and formality, but put them in the same room with the Irish with a tapped keg or two, and they'll soon be singing old marching songs and buying rounds, which the Irish NEVER turn down. The leader of the German contingent is the wunderkind, Guderian, and I have to admit that he does leave an impression on one. Especially that chap Rommel, who I'm told is a brilliant cavalry commander in his own right. Guderian kept trying to pull me away from the proceedings to show me charts and diagrams that he had with him, all having to do with some creation of his that he insisted, "would change the future of warfare forever!" I managed to forestall this presentation to a later date, and I do believe "Little Heine", as the Irish have taken to calling him, would have broken down then and there had not Rommel taken him aside and pointed out that we had larger issues to deal with at this time. And finally, my "Italians". I now see the method to the Duc di Milan's generous offer. It seems that by and large, the majority of my "Italians" are actually Sicilians. As a result of the recent war, when Savoy and Sardinia threw their support to the young Austrian Queen, the Isle di Sicilia had been ceded to them in reparation by the Austrians, all with the support of His Holiness in Rome, of course. That the Sicilians had never been consulted on this was obvious, as was their displeasure with the arrangement. No matter, they are a sinister looking lot, often remaining quiet for hours at a time, then suddenly breaking into heated discussion and boisterous displays. Shaw tells me this is very typical of the Southern Italian, and especially the Sicilianos, and should not overly concern me. I will say this, they are to a man a handsome lot, with their swarthy complexions and black, wavy hair. And there are two or three, I believe named chaps named Corleone, di Niro and Pacino, who can fix a man in a stare that will chill the very blood in your veins! However, there is one odd man out in this dark and sinister group, a young Capitano of Cavalry from the North of Italy who is fair haired and sings like a lark. Every time I turned about at the gathering, this young lad was breaking into glorious song, and I should add that most of the tavern wenches were quite taken with him as well. His name is Gionatta, which I am told is John in our tongue, Bongiovi, and if he can wield a saber as he wields his vocal chords, he should be quite something to see in battle. I will have to tell Lady Katherine to warn the mothers of the Duchy though. As if bringing these lusty Irish and Sicilian lads into the Duchy didn't pose enough of a threat to feminine virtue, young John can seemingly separate a maid from her undergarments with just a twinkle of his eye and a quiver to his voice. No, I will swear to it! After one rousing performance that he gave in the Great Hall of the tavern, there were actually women's undergarments scattered about the performance area, quite as if by accident. The Irish are quite jealous of this gift, as you can imagine!

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(3) The one thing of Guderian's that I took away from the conference, and which my senior staff had an opportunity to review and comment on, was an Order of Battle for our new Army. It is quite an impressive document, and I hope an achieveable goal. I have published it above for your edification, Dear Reader, but do not be overly suprised if changes do not take place at some point in the future. I did express my concerns to my Staff before leaving our pleasant mountain retreat, but with several knowing looks and nods to each other, they assured me to a man that it was not only possible, but that it would come to pass. Indeed, Connery spoke for them all when, assuming what looked for all my life like a playactor's pose on the entry stairs of the tavern, "So let it be written, so let it be done!" I commented in the coach to young Shaw that Connery certainly had taken a striking pose when he issued his statement and inspired great confidencein me, and that he certainly had a most charming and commanding personality. Shaw shocked me to no end when he expressed the vehement opinion that Connery was, "nothing more than another out of work playactor, overplaying the part as usual." Indeed, young Shaw, who was quite the worse for wear from drink I fear, went on to say that he could envision Sean being more appreciated for "pretending" to be an Irishman, an Arab or the King of England if he wasn't careful of his future behavior. Odd for young Shaw to be so put out by a fellow Scot, and especially one as personable as Connery appears to be, but I've already learned that our young Mr. Shaw can be a bit petulant when he wishes. He also warned me, just prior to passing out from his consumption of drink, to beware of my "Sicilian Mob", as he called them while making an odd gesture of bending the end of his nose with his pointing finger. Ah well, time will out, as someone once said. Well Dear Reader, my quill grows dull, as does my wit, and my drink is long consumed, so I will leave you at this point for slumber. And to examine some of the finery that Lady Katherine returned from Paris with. It seems that everything she purchased was not for daily wear, and she did procure these items in Paris!

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Respectfully, Sir William